Until JV shows he can be a threat down low almost everytime he has the ball down there, I wouldn't run too many plays through him. He gets a few looks & has pretty much 1 go to move.

He should get better with time. Right now, his role is good for where he is in his development.

I agree, JV needs to work in a little more variety into his post ups, although I've seen enough to believe that he's more than capable of doing so, as he's shown a baseline spin to create space for a jump hook (not sure why he almost never does this though, as the entire league knows he's going to drive into the middle of the paint for his running hook at this point lol), as well as the occasional up n' under and mid-range jumper. I think at this point, it more a question of habit, comfort and confidence.

I don't think they should give him more than he can handle or deserve right now, but I thinkworking some consistent pick n' roll sets with the intention of setting JV up as the roll man into the team's offense would be great for his development. Especially since getting those easy buckets would hopefully reduce his tendency to force the issue on offense when his game isn't on.

I agree, JV needs to work in a little more variety into his post ups, although I've seen enough to believe that he's more than capable of doing so, as he's shown a baseline spin to create space for a jump hook (not sure why he almost never does this though, as the entire league knows he's going to drive into the middle of the paint for his running hook at this point lol), as well as the occasional up n' under and mid-range jumper. I think at this point, it more a question of habit, comfort and confidence.

I agree. That seems like his best move as far as success rate is concerned, but he does it far less than that rumbling into the middle of lane hook shot thing.

Forgive me if it's already been mentioned, I'm at work and didn't read the whole thread, but to me that's a sign of supreme confidence. There isn't a superstar in the league that doesn't do this exact same thing and I'd rather he argued calls and felt like he was infallible while he's out there than slink away downcast afterward, because unshakeable confidence is one of the necessary attributes of any successful professional athlete.

This seems like a joke. I'm not a psychologist here. I'm not going to do a 10 page profile on the young Lithuanian. But sulking, pouting, dragging your heels and literally hanging your head after a foul is called on you (a foul you deserved) actually shows a complete lack of confidence. A confident person would be able to either shake it off and not let it bother him, or be able to tell the referee what he thinks, without becoming emotional. And I'm not saying he won't get there. But right now he's showing insecurity, not confidence.

This seems like a joke. I'm not a psychologist here. I'm not going to do a 10 page profile on the young Lithuanian. But sulking, pouting, dragging your heels and literally hanging your head after a foul is called on you (a foul you deserved) actually shows a complete lack of confidence. A confident person would be able to either shake it off and not let it bother him, or be able to tell the referee what he thinks, without becoming emotional. And I'm not saying he won't get there. But right now he's showing insecurity, not confidence.

Exactly. Let the refs know what's on your mind, but don't let it affect the next play.

This seems like a joke. I'm not a psychologist here. I'm not going to do a 10 page profile on the young Lithuanian. But sulking, pouting, dragging your heels and literally hanging your head after a foul is called on you (a foul you deserved) actually shows a complete lack of confidence. A confident person would be able to either shake it off and not let it bother him, or be able to tell the referee what he thinks, without becoming emotional. And I'm not saying he won't get there. But right now he's showing insecurity, not confidence.

You're right, you're not a psychologist. And neither am I, but I find you're misreading his body language quite a bit? When does he sulk, pout or drag his heels? Being upset is not the same as those 3 things.
He sometimes hangs his head, likely because he's disappointed in himself because he knows it means he's getting subbed out, and he wants to be able to stay in and contribute. Again, this is a sign of underlying confidence. That he knows he should be playing better and that he can help the team on the floor. He does frequently shake it off, as for a young player, his effort on a play is very rarely affected by what happened the previous play. Right now he's showing uncertainty (and honestly mostly just when he's got the ball in his hands as he's not always decisive with his moves), not insecurity, and he just needs time to grasp the mental aspects of the game which will come as it slows down.

If he was unconfident, he would likely show a lot less emotion in general on the court, as he'd feel out of place and incapable. He'd slowly learn to ignore everything that's happening in a negative way, feeling that he doesn't belong and never will.

*And seriously...."...or be able to tell the referee what he thinks, without becoming emotional". So every time Lowry or DeMar get upset and have a fit it's because of a lack of confidence? Or LeBron, or Duncan or Kobe? Or David West (have you seen this guy? he's one of the worst none-stars in the league when it comes to complaining and getting away with overreactions)?

stooley wrote:

Exactly. Let the refs know what's on your mind, but don't let it affect the next play.

That was more of a blanket statement than a specific analysis of JV. You're probably right.

I mean, especially for a young player. Lots of young guys let their emotions frequently get the best of them. Jonas shows emotion and usually shakes it off. Honestly if he really struggled with it, it would probably show up as a lot more techs with the physical play he deals with and crap treatment he gets from refs (not for the fouls he gets, but the for whistles he doesn't).

I think JV reacts negatively towards certain calls for a variety of reasons. For one, young unestablished bigs, especially centers, rarely get the benefit of a doubt when there's a lot of contact under the rim. Between the constant incidental contact, flailing body parts and the overall speed of the game force refs to make split second judgment calls dependent, in part, upon subjective factors such as reputation and past anecdotal experiences. The organization previously mentioned Hibbert as a defensive blueprint for JV because a) he's very effective, and b) his reputation as a "master" of the principal of vertically has allowed him to regularly get away with doing the exact opposite. For now, JVs reputation seems to be that of a player who can't protect the rim without excessive fouling. Obviously, this reputation results in erroneous calls against him, and after 1.5 seasons of this you can't really blame him for getting upset.

Alternatively, I think he's still learning the nuances and differences between the NBA and the international game. As a result, I think that sometimes he doesn't even realize he's committed a foul. What might be taken as extreme self-confidence if seen in an established vet like Duncan is actually misplaced bitterness on Valanciunas' behalf when he doesn't understand what he's done wrong.

Making everything all the worse, between Casey' s short leash and the expected foul risks associated with manning the paint mean that JV can ill afford anything else contributing to the amount of time he spends on the bench.

P.s., dude really needs to mix things up down low. Unfortunately, getting his running hook blocked by Anthony Davis during the Rising Stars game will only lead to that happening more than it already gas been over the last few weeks. Between that move and his spasmatic pump fake thing, I was actually a little embarrassed for him last night.

This seems like a joke. I'm not a psychologist here. I'm not going to do a 10 page profile on the young Lithuanian. But sulking, pouting, dragging your heels and literally hanging your head after a foul is called on you (a foul you deserved) actually shows a complete lack of confidence. A confident person would be able to either shake it off and not let it bother him, or be able to tell the referee what he thinks, without becoming emotional. And I'm not saying he won't get there. But right now he's showing insecurity, not confidence.